Present Time
Baikon leaves the room and closes the door behind him.
Okays looks out the window and sees the beautiful moon illuminating the trees below. He moves slightly from his place, crawls to the edge of the bed, and places his hand on the window, then pushes it back to open it. A gentle cold breeze enters. He looks down; below him is a small farmland with several livestock beside it, and the place seems like it is on the top of a small mountain. He looks around to the right and left and sees everything is made up of giant trees.
He speaks to himself in a calm voice:
"How lovely this place is, and at the same time it feels like a bad omen. There are predators fighting inside this forest to survive, and a flower grows because one of those animals dies, but none of them thinks of itself as imprisoned or unfree. Those animals are very lucky; they don't know what's happening around them. All they care about is protecting their young and finding food for themselves. And look at me now, I could have lived peacefully in that forest where I was born, I could have been like them, not caring about what's happening around me... So why am I doing all this?"
Baikon: That's because you were born to be free.
Okays turns around, startled, and looks back:
"Since when have you been here? I didn't hear you coming."
Baikon: (smiles) I've lived a long time, boy. Sneaking up behind someone isn't that hard. But when you talk about those animals, you're not like them. They don't think like you. They only have the instinct to stay alive. But you have a mind to think with, and you have choices to make. You're different from them.
Baikon places the warm soup and a glass of water next to the bed and sits on the chair beside the bed.
Baikon:
"Listen to me, boy. You were born to be free in what you do. No one can tell you what you should do. But being free doesn't mean being evil or doing bad things. You say that if you had made yourself a prisoner in the forest where you were born, it might have been better, but that's not true. When you left it, you met your friends, you saw what the world is like, you met many people—some good, some bad—and in return, you learned a lot from them. That's why, boy, I tell you: your decision to leave wasn't a bad one. Maybe it was your destiny."
Okays looks toward the window and gazes at the moon:
"How beautiful this moon is, lighting up the place and protecting people and animals from stumbling in the dark. You're right in what you say. Maybe it was my destiny to leave that forest. But now, I have a responsibility. I have to become stronger and go to protect her."
(stomach growls)
Baikon: (laughs) Eat first, boy.
Baikon hands Okays the hot soup, and Okays starts eating it.
Okays:
"Thank you, old kind man, for saving me, for giving me food, and also for your words."
Baikon: Don't worry. All that happened is that I started to feel lonely.
Okays: Don't you have a family?
Baikon looks toward the window:
"I did, but now they're under the ground. I had a child, but that was a very long time ago."
Okays: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you with my words.
Baikon: It's okay, boy. Everyone has a past, and everyone has lost someone in their life. What will you do now? Will you try to return to the wall?
Okays: Yes. Once my body heals, I'll prepare to head back to the walls.
Baikon: Were you with me when I told you we're in the north?
Okays: Yes, I heard you. But what's the problem?
Baikon: You don't know that the northern lands are under the rule of Minister Rees, do you?
Okays: What? I haven't heard that before! Aren't all the lands ruled by King Minalost?
Baikon: Do you remember the war a thousand years ago?
Okays: Yes. I heard about it from my mother. It was the reason the walls were built.
Baikon: That war happened because of Minister Rees. But after the war ended, he and his followers took over the northern region. That's why the civil war continues—because the minister wants to rule the entire continent.
Okays: I knew the war was because of him, but I didn't know the rest... So I can't leave here?
Baikon: The problem isn't just the minister or the soldiers. There's a massive forest in the middle that you won't be able to cross because of it. But there is a main road that connects the north and the south. It's heavily guarded. You can't cross it unless you have a permit from Minister Rees.
Okays: So I have to go through the forest?
Baikon: Calm down, boy. Those forests are considered dangerous even for those who call themselves royal guards. They're very dangerous.
Okays: Then what's the solution? How can I go? Kalira and Thwarans must be worried about me.
Baikon: There's a way to cross, but it's dangerous... Forget about it.
Okays: It's okay. Tell me.
Baikon: (sighs) Okay. It's located in the far east, at the end of the forest. There's a massive mountainous area there, but between those mountains, there's a cave you can pass through to the south. But the problem is that these caves are unstable and full of bandits who smuggle goods from the north to the south.
Okays: But it's still better than the forest and the main road, right?
Baikon: Yes, it is. But it's dangerous because of the bandits and the unpredictable terrain.
Okays: It's okay. I'll go through there. It seems I have no other option.
Baikon: But the journey will be longer. If you go through there to reach the south, it'll take a full year's journey.
Okays: What can I do? I can't fly to the other side. I have to take that path. Just show me how to get there. I'll move tomorrow.
Baikon: Calm down, boy. Why are you in such a hurry? Listen to me carefully. At this time of year, that area is full of bandits and smugglers. That's why I advise you to go when winter comes. Winter is only a month away, but it becomes more dangerous then due to the severe cold. But, since you're a blood-user, you can learn a small trick to keep your body warm by speeding up the blood flow in your body.
Okays: Is there really such an ability? And also, if I wait for winter, I'll be even more delayed from my friends.
Baikon: Getting there alive is better than getting there late. And also, don't worry too much. Your friends will be fine.
Okays: I really hope so.
To be continued…